Saturday, July 16, 2011

42 Weeks

Nope, definitely not still pregnant! But we had to do the weekly photo op ;)






First, can we just say - I have been away less than a week - wth happened to Blogger? This is new and confusing and disorienting...but I will attempt to persevere.


Second, hey friends! We are back up and running. As I mentioned in the last post Miss Evelyn Rae has arrived and is an adorable distraction and blessing to us each and every day. As for every moment of the day...you should ask her daddy how "blessed" he felt while pulling the graveyard shift last night. Ha!


Seriously though, he has been the.best. about making sure that I get some sort of semblance of rest in between marathon nursing sessions. Between he and my parents I am feeling a bit like a queen, being able to just rest and cuddle with my little girl the majority of the last few days. I will definitely be writing up a full birth story soon - get excited - but in the meantime, here, for the last time, is the run down of symptoms, and how I am feeling about 5 days post-partum.


Skin
Good. My stretch marks look a lot less "angry". You know, now that they aren't being stretched as far. Funny how that works.

Weight/Clothes
Feeling better than expected. I am definitely cutting myself some slack and taking it easy like I am supposed to, but overall I look at myself in the mirror and think, "Hey, not bad for having just had a baby!" It is weird having a squishy abdomen though after so many months of such a firm one.


Cravings/Aversions
Hunger has returned! I am super hungry at meal times and ready to eat. Snacking and tons of water drinking have also been happening. Thirst is pretty common (I am told) while breast feeding, so I was anticipating this and carry my water bottle everywhere.

Cramps/Pain
Contractions are happening still to shrink my uterus back down into shape, and there is a bit of general soreness in the nether regions (from pushing out an 8lb, 11oz baby, but who's counting?), but overall I feel pretty darn good. Hello additional upside of achieving natural childbirth!

Sleeping
Hahaha. Actually, I can't complain too much. A has been really great about taking turns with me while little miss is fussy in the middle of the night. I am getting a good amount of rest, compared to how I thought I would feel. 


Mental State
Feeling great. I am sort of waiting for hormones to rear their ugly head, but so far I have been just chillin' and I feel so.thankful. for that. I haven't had any weepy moments just yet and am loving mommyhood so far. I even find my baby's crying kind of cute. How whacked is that?

Heartburn
Gone. Loving life again.

The Girls
HUGE. Seriously, I sort of wish that I could post a photo of them without turning myself into a woman of disrepute. They are impressive. My milk came in on Thursday (shortly after the above photo) and we have been breastfeeding up a storm. I feel a bit like a milk machine lately as my whole day revolves around feeding, feeding and more feeding. We are doing well so far in that realm, yet another thing I am super thankful for so far...let's not jinx it! A full post on breastfeeding to come soon, once we set up a good supply and have some further observations.

Fetal Movement
Ha. None anymore! 

Swelling
Gooooooone. And so thankful to have ankles again. Yay!

Appointment Updates
No appointments, other than pediatrician appointments for us for a bit! 

Weird Stuff
I am a mom. Weird. Awesome. Crazy.

I am so in love.





Evelyn is 5 days old

...and this post has taken longer than any other I have ever wrote from start to finish. Interrupted by breast feedings, burpings, diaper changes, etc. Oh, new life.

3 comments:

  1. omg. this post made me cry. you look amazing!!! so great!! and she is so beautiful!!!!

    a postpartum belly wrap works wonders for easing the squishiness of the belly. it feels so good to have it contained.

    love ya'll!!

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  2. I hope you enjoy breastfeeding as much as I did! I dropped the bedtime feeding last week and we are done for good now. So sad for me, but not an issue whatsoever for baby Katherine.

    Good luck with your new adventure. You will feel like a 24/7 buffet for the first few weeks, but it will pass all too quickly. It seems as though you have an entourage of a support system, but if you have any breastfeeding questions I would be glad to listen.

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  3. Hey Courtney! I know long time no speak but I came across your blog and HAD to post!!! Congrats on your new bundle of joy. And she just happens to be born on my husbands birthday, such a great day! Free Slurpee's for life on birthdays now! ;) Anyways, I have to say congrats on the breastfeeding success. My daughter was born by c-section and as a rookie there were a lot of things that I was not ready for in the least. She was breech and so natural birth was not an option for us. :( With all things considered, Sydney never was able to latch. But I was still whole heartedly into the breastfeeding thing. So I pumped exclusively for 10 weeks until I was preparing to go back to work and the stresses of everything got the best of me. Schedules of feeding, pumping, freezing, storing, and all of the above proved to be too much for my amateur mind towards the end. So best wishes for continued success, if she is going great now, she should continue to do so! You look great 5 days out, isn't it amazing how quickly pregnancy seems like a distant memory? With a 2 hour repeating schedule, that seems to happen naturally ;). Again best wishes and congrats on the most precious gift life has to offer!

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